4SS: 11 Sleepless in San Francisco
by Ta1u1a
Summary: 11 of 22 in the 4th Sister Series, alternate season 4. Piper is targeted by a demon who keeps her from sleeping in order to drive her insane. Suspicion arises when Price learns Puck is not who he claims to be.


Sleepless in San Francisco  
>Eleventh episode in the Fourth Sister Series<p>

* * *

><p>The clock struck midnight and Piper had the fleeting thought that it had already done so an hour ago. She knew it had already done that once before since the last time she had slept. Then she remembered that she hadn't slept in over 24 hours. Another demon. Another sleepless night. She went through the hours like a zombie unless she was researching the demon they were currently trying to vanquish. She was extremely glad that she had hired that new manager at P3. She couldn't concentrate on work, but she couldn't just let her club go down the drain. Price's job didn't pay as well as they all could hope, and Phoebe didn't have a job. That left Piper and P3 to bring in the cash. Cash to pay the bills. Cash to buy food. Cash to repair things broken during demon attacks. She felt like she lived in the 50s and she was the husband of the family. Phoebe was the wife. Price was the live-in cousin or something like that. Who knew? Piper just knew that she was responsible for taking care of this whole family and she didn't really have the energy to do it anymore.<p>

"Rotinom," Phoebe said, pulling Piper from her thoughts.

"What?" Piper asked, shaking away the daze she had just been in.

"Rotinom. That's our demon," Phoebe explained. "He has the power of reflection."

"Reflection? What's that?" Price asked. Piper and Phoebe shrugged and looked to the two men standing nearby.

"He has the ability to copy your powers," Cole explained.

"Like Matthew Tate," Phoebe said.

"Ugh, don't remind me about him," Piper said.

"Hey, at least you had the self-control to not allow him to copy your power, Piper," Phoebe shot back.

"Whatever," Piper said distractedly. Everyone else noticed she wasn't exactly 100% concentrating on this, but nobody said anything. Phoebe turned to Leo and Cole.

"So does this mean that we can't use our powers on him?" Phoebe asked. "Because we couldn't on Matthew."

"It works the same as Matthew Tate, like you guessed," Leo said. "But Price's power doesn't have to be used directly on demons so you can work around it. Throw things at him long enough to vanquish him."

"Wait a minute, but if Piper blows up this demon won't that be it?" Price asked. "I mean, blowing up is pretty final."

"His power would protect him and he would be able to return with that power," Cole said. "Which is one of your powers that you definitely don't want him to copy."

"All right, well the Book describes his haunts and stuff," Phoebe said. "We can probably come up with a vanquishing spell and potion for this guy."

"Okay, so let's get this over with," Price said. "Piper, you're our potions master. I'll help you out with it."

"Huh?" Piper asked, shaking her head. Then she realized what they were talking about. "Oh yeah, sure."

"Honey, are you okay?" Leo asked. "You seem a little distracted."

"No, I'm just…tired," she said. "Let's get this done with. Then I can get some sleep."

She headed out of the attic. The others looked at each other, silently making their concerns known. Then they followed her.

* * *

><p>"So the potion was a little off," Piper said as the three of them entered the foyer of the Manor, with Leo and Cole behind them. The sisters were splattered head to toe with green demon blood, courtesy of Piper's vanquishing potion.<p>

"We didn't even get the spell out and splat!" Price said trying in vain to wipe some of the goo off her sleeve.

"What are you complaining about? It worked. The demon's vanquished," she said. She headed for the stairs. The other two just stared at her. "Fine. If it'll get you off my case, I'll pay the dry cleaning bills for your clothes."

"No, it's okay, Piper," Phoebe said. "You don't have to do that."

"Yeah, I'm gonna trash these clothes anyway," Price said. "I really don't have the energy to try to explain this to a dry cleaner."

"I don't think it's that your sisters are annoyed as much as they are concerned Piper," Leo stepped in. "You've never really made a potion that didn't work the way you intended it to."

"Oh, I'm annoyed," Price said. Leo and Phoebe shot her a look. "But yeah, I'm concerned too."

"When a potion reacts like that it means you're not focused," Cole added to the conversation.

"Yeah, well, once I clean up and go to bed, I'll wake up and be plenty focused tomorrow," Piper said, heading upstairs. The others watched her, hoping that she was right.

* * *

><p>Assilem watched the eldest sister through his looking glass. He could sense her exhaustion and he knew he could play off it. He knew precisely the spell to make her vulnerable.<p>

"Nusquam dormir. Nusquam quod vigilo," he said, holding his hands in front of the looking glass. Piper's image shimmered for a moment and then went back to normal. He watched her with a smile as she laid under the covers of her bed and turned off her bedside lamp. "Have you ever been so tired that you couldn't sleep?" he asked no one. "You will know what it's like."

* * *

><p>Piper tossed and turned in bed. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't believe it. She hadn't slept for the past 36 hours and she couldn't sleep. She looked over at Leo, sleeping soundly. He was immortal. What did he need to sleep for? She was momentarily mad at Leo because he could sleep. Then she pushed the irrational thought out of her head. She looked at her clock and saw that it was almost sunrise. The sun always streamed in on her bed, and she knew she wouldn't be able to get any sleep once the sun was up.<p>

She pushed the covers back and rose from the bed, grunting in anger. What was the deal? She felt exhausted, but she couldn't sleep. It didn't make sense. She trudged down to the kitchen and turned on the coffee maker. Then she collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table and laid her head down on it. She groaned and then banged her forehead on the table five times while saying, "I (bang) just (bang) want (bang) to (bang) sleep (bang)."

Cole stood in the kitchen doorway watching her with curiosity and amusement. "I don't think that'll help."

She looked over at him, startled. Then she stood and went over to the coffeemaker. "You know for some reason I didn't take you for an early morning kind of guy," she said.

"After last night I didn't take you for an early riser either," he commented. "You can't sleep?"

"No," she said as she pulled the pot out from under the drip and replaced it with her mug.

"Coffee probably isn't what you should drink if you want to sleep," he commented. He went to the refrigerator and pulled out the orange juice for himself.

"Well, I can't sleep during the day," she said. "My room is too bright."

"There aren't any windows in the basement," he said with a smile. Piper just shot him a look as she put the coffee pot back under the drip. "It's weird that you can't sleep, though. I mean, I thought you would be dead to the world as soon as your head hit the pillow."

"Me too," Piper said. She sat at the counter on the stool with her coffee. She took a sip, set her mug on the counter and then rubbed her temples. She was starting to get a migraine. "I can already tell this day is going to suck."

"Have you tried taking some kind of sleeping aid or something?" Cole asked.

"No, but I might," Piper said, still massaging her temples. She was about to reach for her coffee when Cole took it away. "What are you doing?"

"You take something to help you sleep and I'll set up a cot in the basement for you so it's not too bright," he said. "You need to sleep."

"Since when do you care about my welfare?" Piper asked with a smirk.

"Since you're one of the most important people in the world to the woman I love," he shot back. "If you're this tired you won't be focused and when the next demon attacks someone could get hurt."

Piper sighed and rubbed her eyes. Cole was right. She wasn't focused. Last night they had been lucky that the potion hadn't royally backfired and hurt them. She stood.

"You're right, Cole," she said as she stood. "You don't have to set up a cot. I'm going to try to sleep upstairs."

"Good luck," he said as she left the kitchen. He was deeply concerned for Piper's well-being. And he was starting to realize that he wasn't just concerned because Phoebe would be hurt if anything happened to Piper. He was concerned for Piper because he cared about her. He was starting to feel a familial connection to her. He wondered if maybe he was starting to bond with her. It seemed like a weird concept to him. But he knew it might happen. He took the coffee he had taken from Piper out to the solarium so he could watch the sunrise.

* * *

><p>Darryl sat at his desk thumbing through some old case files when he noticed a couple were missing. He wasn't sure which ones at first. He just knew some files were missing. He thought about it for a moment and then he realized which ones were missing. The files on Andy's death was missing, as well as the files on Prue and Dr. Griffiths. He wondered if IA was investigating him. The last time he had noticed missing case files, IA had been investigating him and Andy, and that investigation led to Andy's death by the hands of a demon. Darryl stood and headed to find out what was going.<p>

He knocked lightly on his captain's door. "Hey, Cap, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yeah, sure Morris," the older man said. He looked over his glasses at Darryl. He knew Darryl was his best inspector, even with all the freaky unsolved cases. Morris wasn't like the other inspectors. He didn't cut corners and he didn't leave any stone unturned, which was precisely why Morris still had a job. If Captain Hathaway hadn't known that Morris was the most thorough inspector in the precinct he would have been demoted two years ago because of all his unsolved cases.

"I was just wondering if any of my old cases have been reopened and assigned to someone else," he said.

"No," Hathaway replied. "Which cases are you talking about?"

"Well, Andy's case file is missing, and so are the files for Prue Halliwell and Dr. Griffiths," Darryl explained.

"Oh, an agent from the FBI came in. The cases aren't officially reopened, but he's looking into them," Hathaway said. "He's bringing the files back tomorrow."

"Why wasn't I told about this?" Darryl asked.

"He said it wasn't necessary," Hathaway replied. "I really doubt he'll get anywhere with it, Morris. You investigated those cases thoroughly. There's nothing left for him to find, right?"

"Yeah, right," Darryl said. He started to leave Hathaway's office, but he turned back. "What's this agent's name?"

"Um, something weird," Hathaway said, digging his memory. "It's on the tip of my tongue. Oh, right. Puck Wolfman."

Darryl's eyes widened. He immediately left Captain Hathaway's office and picked up the phone to dial the Manor. He was greeted with the tired voice of Piper.

"Hello," she said. Darryl noticed that she didn't just sound tired. She sounded angry.

"Piper, it's Darryl," he said. "You all right? You sound upset."

"It's nothing," she said. "What's up Darryl?"

"Um, I was wondering if Price was there," he said.

"No, she's at work now," Piper replied. "This isn't a demon thing is it?"

"Um, I'm not sure yet," Darryl said. "I need to ask Price something first."

"Okay, well, do you have her work number?"

"Yeah," Darryl said. "I'll talk to you later, Piper."

"Bye," she said. Darryl hung up and dialed 415 Magazine. He got Price's voice mail. "Price, it's Darryl. I need to talk to you about something. It might be important. Call my cell when you get a chance."

He sat at his desk and thought about Puck Wolfman, and he wondered if this was demon related.

* * *

><p>Piper wanted to cry. She had taken enough sleeping pills to drop a linebacker and she still couldn't sleep. She wanted to try more pills, but she had a feeling that it wouldn't work. And she didn't want to overdose. She had tried chamomile tea, counting sheep, warm milk, anything she could think of. She had even dug through her closet until she found one of her old history textbooks from college. She read two chapters on the Reconstruction after the Civil War. She certainly felt more tired, but no matter what she tried she couldn't sleep. The only options that she had left that she could think of were drinking something alcoholic or doing a spell. Under normal circumstances she had a fairly low tolerance for alcohol. She remembered in college that she had passed out at a party once after two shots of tequila. Luckily her friends had gotten her home before anything else happened to her. She didn't know if she wanted to brave a hangover or the consequences of using a spell for personal gain.<p>

"It's not personal gain," she said, trying to convince herself that it would be okay to do a spell. "If I'm a walking zombie when we vanquish a demon someone will get hurt. It's for safety purposes."

She headed up to the attic deciding that no consequences could be worse than what she was going through now.

* * *

><p>Phoebe grunted as she entered the Manor. Another job interview behind her and another blow to her pride as she was sure she hadn't gotten the job. She was sick of not being able to help provide financially. She felt bad that Piper and P3 had to support the family almost completely.<p>

She entered the kitchen to be greeted by the sight of Piper sitting at the kitchen table. There was an empty wine bottle on the counter and an empty glass next to Piper, who was resting her head on her arm, but she looked up when Phoebe came in.

"Phoebe, hi. And how are you?" she asked, her speech slurred a little. She stood and walked shakily over to Phoebe. She put her arm around Phoebe's shoulders and leaned heavily on her. "How is my favorite sister named Phoebe?"

"Um, I'm just fine, Piper," Phoebe said. She removed Piper's arm from her shoulders and led her older sister back to her seat. "And how are you?"

"Tired," Piper said, her somewhat cheerful smile disappearing and turning into a pout. "I'm tired, and nothing works." Then she smiled again. "But I don't have a migraine anymore!"

"Well, that's good honey, but if you're tired why aren't you in bed?" Phoebe asked. She picked up the empty wine bottle. "And Piper, you're pregnant. Or did you forget that? You can't drink alcohol."

"Oh man, I forgot. Phoebe, see how tired I am. I probably just killed my baby or hurt it or something. Cuz you're right. Pregnant people aren't supposed to drink. They're not supposed to take pills either. My baby's dead!" Piper cried. "Nothing works. I took sleeping pills and I drank tea and I read two chapters about stuff that happened after the Civil War. I even tried a spell. Nothing will put me to sleep." Phoebe was definitely concerned now. Piper stood again. "Hey! How about you hit me over the head with that bottle? That will work. It's gotta work."

"Um, no, Piper," Phoebe said. She put the bottle down. "I'm not going to put my sister in the hospital. Come on, let's get you to bed."

Piper pulled away suddenly. "No! You don't get it. You're not listening," she said. She stumbled a little and then backed up until she was leaning on the wall. "I've tried sleeping. It doesn't work. I can't sleep. No matter how hard I try. I'm doomed to be awake forever." She pouted again and looked down at the floor.

Phoebe didn't know what to say. This definitely wasn't your typical case of insomnia. She knew that Piper had a low tolerance for alcohol, too. A bottle of wine should have put her out cold. And if Piper had taken the sleeping pills shortly before she drank the wine it could've had deadly consequences. Something was definitely wrong.

"Honey, have you called the doctor?"

"No," Piper said. "But he doesn't matter. He won't help. He'll give me pills that don't work."

"How many pills did you take?" Phoebe asked.

"As many as allowed," she said. "Enough to drop a wild animal. I'm not a wild animal." She suddenly started crying and she walked over to Phoebe. She wrapped her arms around her little sister and cried on her shoulders. "Why can't I sleep Phoebe? I just wanna sleep."

Phoebe held Piper. She had only seen her older sister this drunk once, and she remembered that Piper had had the hangover of all hangovers the next day. If she was willing to brave that to get some sleep, something wasn't right here.

"Okay, sweetie, we'll figure this out," Phoebe said. "I'm going to call Leo and see if he can help. But let's get you out to the couch, and you can lay down for a little bit."

Piper let go of Phoebe and nodded her head. The two of them went out the parlor. Piper laid down while Phoebe began calling Leo. Their favorite whitelighter showed up promptly. He apparently hadn't been extremely busy. Before he could ask what was going on Piper stood and stumbled over to him.

"Honey, you're home! I'm glad you're home because we've got a problem. I mean, I've got a problem," she said, leaning against him. Leo looked curiously over at Phoebe. He could smell the alcohol on Piper's breath.

"Piper, honey, remember you're supposed to be laying down now," Phoebe said, leading Piper back to the couch.

"Phoebe, what's going on? Is she drunk?" Leo asked.

"Yes, she is," Phoebe said. "Can you check to see if the baby's okay? Because Piper got so desperate to try to sleep that she drank a bottle of wine."

"What?" Leo asked.

"She has tried everything to try to sleep, even a spell," Phoebe said. "She forgot that she wasn't supposed to drink alcohol. I just think you should check on the baby before we try to figure out why she can't sleep."

Leo nodded his head and knelt next to the couch. Piper looked at him pitifully. "I'm sorry, Leo. I didn't know what to do. I didn't mean to hurt our baby."

"I know," he said quietly as he tried to sense the baby. He didn't sense any problems with it. He stood. "I think the baby's okay."

"Oh thank God. I didn't hurt it," Piper said with relief.

"Now we need to figure out what the heck is going on here," Phoebe said.

"Something is keeping me from sleeping," Piper said. "I know it. I should be able to go to sleep."

Leo held his hand next to Piper's head. He sensed something unnatural going on with her brain. It wasn't a normal human problem.

"It's something supernatural," Leo said. "Something is interrupting the normal processes of Piper's brain to keep her from sleeping."

"I told you. A demon is keeping me awake," Piper said. She sat up, but she suddenly felt dizzy and laid back down. "Woah."

"Okay, Piper, you need to rest and let the alcohol wear off," Phoebe said. "Leo and I will look into this."

"Okay," Piper said. She was more than willing to let them handle it for now. She had a feeling the alcohol was starting to wear off and pretty soon she would be making a beeline for the bathroom. She watched them leave the room and then closed her eyes, wishing desperately that she could just sleep.

* * *

><p>Price checked her voice mail and called Darryl right away after hearing the urgency in his voice.<p>

"Darryl, what's up?" she asked as she leaned back in her desk chair.

"Puck Wolfman. What did he tell you he did for a living?"

"Um, he's a stock broker," Price replied. "Why?"

"He lied to you, Price," Darryl said. "He's an FBI agent. And he's looking at some of my old cases, one of them being Prue's case."

"What? No, that can't be right," Price said. "He can't be."

"He is," Darryl said.

"No, but…I'm going to call him," Price said.

"Price, hang on a second," Darryl said. "The last time someone started looking at my old cases, it was a demon. And he killed my partner. You can't just confront him like this."

"Of course, I can," Price said. "I'm going to find out why he lied to me."

"Price, you're not getting the idea here, are you?" Darryl said. "If he's a demon then he wants to kill you, and if he's human he's trying to expose your secret."

"Well, then I'm going to find out which one he is," Price said. "If he's a demon, I'll vanquish him. If he's human, I'll tell him I'm a witch and get it over with."

"It's not that simple, Price," Darryl said. He felt weird being the one lecturing Price on the issue of their exposure. "If he exposes you three…"

"He won't," Price said. "Darryl, Puck has feelings for me. I can tell. And I have feelings for him. I know that if I can explain it to him, I'll get him to understand that he'll gain nothing from exposing us."

Darryl wasn't sure what to think. Maybe Price was right about Puck. If he was human, then maybe they could gain another friend. Then Darryl wouldn't feel burdened to be the only one covering for the Halliwells all the time.

"I hope you know what you're doing," he said.

"I'll be okay," she said. "Thanks for calling me though Darryl. It's good to have a friend like you."

"No problem, and be careful."

"You got it," she said. They both hung up and Price sat there thinking about Puck. He couldn't be a demon. She couldn't accept that. She stood and grabbed her coat to head home. She needed to find a demon test, and she knew the best place to find one.

* * *

><p>Assilem smiled as he watched Piper Halliwell try to sleep. The lack of sleep would soon cause her sanity to slip. Either that or she wouldn't be able to stand it anymore and she would do something to kill herself. He relished in the thought that he could kill the eldest Charmed One and destroy the Power of Three. The child would be an added bonus. He hadn't known about the child until he found out from watching Piper, Phoebe and Leo. But he knew that prophecies foretold of it. Originally evil had thought that Prudence Halliwell was the prophesied child. She was, after all, borne of a whitelighter and a witch. But that turned out to be a false assumption. The child of Piper and Leo was the child that would lead to the destruction of the Source, and the gradual destruction of all supernatural evils. The only small comfort for evil if the prophecy came true was that the child would have no effect on human evils. The evils of human nature would still exist, and in fact would probably flourish more than ever to restore the balance between good and evil.<p>

He watched with great pleasure. He would stop the prophecy. The child would die when Piper became too desperate to think clearly.

* * *

><p>When Price arrived home she was surprised to find Phoebe and Leo in the parlor looking in the Book of Shadows.<p>

"Wow. I didn't think I'd have to wait in line to look at the Book," Price said.

"Why?" Phoebe asked. "What do you need it for?"

"Um, Darryl called me today. It seems that Puck lied to me about what he does for a living," Price explained. "He's an FBI agent."

"What? Why wouldn't he tell you that?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, Darryl found this info out because he found out that Puck's looking at some of his old case files," Price replied. "One of them was Prue's."

"The last time someone was looking at Darryl's old case files was—" Leo began.

"—when a demon killed Darryl's old partner," Price interrupted. "Yeah, I know."

"So, you think Puck's a demon?" Phoebe asked.

"Puck's a demon?" Piper asked as she returned to the room. The alcohol had worn off and now she was experiencing the after effects. Her head was pounding and she had just finished throwing up.

"Possibly," Price said. "He's an FBI agent, or posing as one, and looking at Darryl's unsolved cases. So either he's trying to figure out why at least one Halliwell is involved in all of those cases, or he's a demon trying to get to us and kill us. So we basically face exposure or death."

"If he's not a demon, he can't expose us," Phoebe said, her concern evident. "The last time we were exposed, there was a frenzy. And it got Piper killed."

Price knew the story of what happened before Tempus turned back time and how Piper had been shot by a crazy woman. "I know. I need the book to look for some way to test if he's a demon. Then if he's not a demon, I'm going to tell him we're witches."

Piper and Phoebe looked at her like she had grown a second head. "I'm sorry. What did you just say?" Piper asked in an agitated tone. Everything that was happening to her wasn't helping her temper much.

"Look, I care about Puck. I really think he has feelings for me. If he does, I think I can get him to understand that we do good," Price said. "I think I can keep him from exposing us."

"Do you really think it's worth the risk?" Leo asked, trying to be open to Price's idea.

"Is it worth the risk to sit back and wait for him to find proof on his own?" Price asked. "At least this way I can have some control over the situation if I just tell him. He lied to me about being in the FBI, so he at least can't be mad at me for keeping it secret from him."

"Our experience has been that relationships with mortals tend to deteriorate after you tell them the truth," Phoebe said. "Every mortal guy that's dated one of us since we became witches and has found out about it has reacted like we're lepers or something. Prue told Andy and he couldn't handle it. Dan found out and he couldn't handle it either."

"I have to try," Price said. "I would rather destroy the relationship and at least keep him from exposing us than I would have a good relationship until he exposes us."

"Okay, Price," Piper said, deciding to give up on the argument. "I think you might have the right idea. If he's human, it should work as damage control. And if he's not human, we know what we have to do."

"Phoebe?" Price asked, turning to her other sister for approval.

"Okay, go ahead," Phoebe said. "But if you have any problems with him we'll have to find a way to keep him from exposing us. We'll help you with it."

"Good. Now, are there any demon tests in the Book?" she asked.

"There's a potion that Prue made up," Phoebe said. "I used it once, and it worked. But right now we've got a more pressing problem."

"What's that?" Price asked.

"I can't sleep," Piper said. She sat on the couch and leaned on her elbows. She saw the confused look on Price's face.

"You can't sleep? That's the pressing problem?"

"It's not how you think," Piper said.

"She literally cannot sleep," Phoebe said.

"I tried everything to get to sleep. A demon is keeping me awake," Piper said. "And I swear if I don't get some sleep soon I'm going to go crazy. I've been up for almost 48 hours because of demons."

"Any leads yet?" Price asked.

"A couple, but they're not definite," Leo said. 'There's a demon named Assilem who can disrupt the normal functions of the human body through conjuring. For example, he could stop a person's heart or he could disrupt the motor functions so that a person couldn't get their brain to send signals to their body to move."

"There's also some other demons with similar powers, but Assilem is our most likely," Phoebe said.

"So how do we find him? Let's vanquish his ass," Price said.

"It's not that simple. Assilem isn't on this plane," Leo explained. "In order to vanquish him you have to be on the same plane as him."

"What plane is he on?" Piper asked.

"He's on Apaya. It's the plane of the nether existences," Leo said. "The problem is that there's four worlds in Apaya, and we don't have any way of knowing which one he's at. And then another problem is that no one knows how to get there from here."

"There's gotta be a way," Price said, glancing over at Piper. The eldest Halliwell was sitting on the sofa leaning her elbows on her knees and rubbing her temples.

"There's a way," Phoebe said with determination. "We just have to find it."

* * *

><p>Cole walked into the attic to find Price setting up candles in a circle. Piper was sitting in a chair with her head in her hands. Leo was standing near her, watching her in concern. Phoebe was standing by the Book of Shadows and writing.<p>

"It's after dark, the first floor's deserted. I had a feeling I would find you up here," he said with a smirk. "So what's going on?"

"Piper can't sleep," Phoebe said distractedly as she continued writing. Cole stood behind her and read over her shoulder.

"Assilem," Cole said in surprise. "I didn't think he had the guts to attack the Charmed Ones."

"You know him?" Price asked.

"I know of him," Cole said. He continued to read what Phoebe was writing. "That won't get you to Apaya."

"What?" Phoebe asked.

"That," he said, pointing to the spell she had been writing. "It won't get you to Apaya."

"What will?" Leo asked, leaving Piper's side and approaching Cole.

"Only a supernatural transport," Cole said.

"You mean a demon," Price said.

"Yes, a demon or…" he said. He paused and looked at Leo. They were all confused for a moment. Phoebe realized what Cole was saying first.

"Leo can orb there?" Phoebe asked. This got Piper's attention and she looked up. Leo looked over at her.

"I'm not leaving Piper," he said, locking eyes with his tired wife. Then he turned to Cole. "I can't leave her alone here."

"I'll stay with her," Cole said.

"But Leo didn't even know he could orb there," Price said. "Wouldn't the Elders know that their whitelighters could get into Apaya?"

"Not necessarily," Piper said. Everyone turned to look at her. "We've found the Elders to be in the dark about a lot of things. Hell, they didn't even know that Prue was part whitelighter. Leo, you'll take Phoebe and Price to Apaya."

"But Piper…"

"Don't 'but Piper' me," she said with a smirk, trying to help reassure him that she would be okay. In truth she felt very, very far from okay. "You're the only way that we have to get to Assilem, and that means you're the only way to break whatever hold he has on me that's keeping me from sleeping."

Leo sighed and then turned to Cole, who raised his right hand by way of making an oath. "I'll die before I let anything happen to her."

"Well, it's not going to come to that," Phoebe said. She walked toward Piper. "We're gonna get this guy."

Piper managed a smile. "I know you will. Just be careful."

"Of course," Phoebe said. She leaned forward and kissed Piper on the forehead. Phoebe went to Cole and gave him a kiss, while Leo did the same with Piper.

"I love you," he said after he kissed her. "And our daughter."

"How do you know it's a girl?" Piper asked.

Leo smiled. "Got a feeling." Then he stepped back and took the hands of the other two sisters. Leo and Piper watched hopefully as they orbed out. When they didn't return after a few minutes, the two knew that they had made it to Apaya.

* * *

><p>"This joint looks pretty nice. Not the kind of place I'd expect demons to hang out in," Price said when they arrived in Apaya. The area around them was wooded, like a forest Price had once camped in when she was child living in Massachusetts. She and some friends had gone to a camp in northern Massachusetts very similar to where she, Phoebe and Leo were standing. There was a cabin nearby.<p>

"Surely, it can't be that easy to find Assilem," Phoebe said as the three of them approached the cabin. They carefully walked up onto the porch and approached a window, careful not to let anyone who may be inside see them. As far as they could see there was no one in the cabin. "Doesn't look like anybody's home."

Phoebe walked over to the door and opened it. She looked inside and saw nobody. It was a simple, one-room cabin with a bed, a table and chairs, and a wood-burning stove. She walked into the room and suddenly she heard a click. She tensed and stopped in her tracks. Then she held her hands out behind her.

"Guys, don't move," she said in warning. "I think this place is booby trapped."

"What makes you think that?" Leo asked, standing stock still as Phoebe had asked.

"Oh, because I think I'm the booby who just triggered the trap," she said nervously. "I just stepped on something and it clicked."

"What do you think it is?" Price asked, now suddenly worried about getting out of the cabin without stepping on any other triggers.

"I don't know," Phoebe said. "From a demon it could be anything. Or it could just be a simple bomb. But whatever I just stepped on is pressure sensitive. If I lift my foot, something very bad is going to happen."

"So we just run really fast and hopefully the bad thing that happens won't get us," Price said. "Right?"

"No," Phoebe said. "You guys have to keep going. You have to go after Assilem before it's too late for Piper."

"We can't leave you here, Phoebe," Price argued.

"Yes, you can, Price," Phoebe said. "I'll try the whole bust out and run thing and hope that it works, but I want you guys out of danger and well on your way to catching Assilem before I even attempt moving."

"I'm not leaving you, Phoebe," Leo said defiantly. "Piper and Cole would both kill me if I did."

"They can't Leo. You're already dead," Phoebe said. "Now go."

"No, Phoebe," he said. "Price, get out of here."

"What?" Price asked.

"Leo…" Phoebe began to protest.

"Phoebe, for just once in your life, don't think of me as Leo, your sister's husband," he said. "Think of me as Leo, your whitelighter. I'm your guide and protector. So let me protect you. Price, get as far away as you can. Phoebe, grab my hand."

Phoebe looked over her shoulder at Leo. He was several feet away from her. "I can't reach you without moving."

"Try, Phoebe," Leo said. He reached forward as far as he could. "You can do it. You take my hand, and I'll orb us out of here before anything happens."

"I don't know," Phoebe said hesitantly.

"Trust me, Phoebe," Leo said. "Now reach."

Phoebe stretched as far as she could. Her finger tips were almost touching Leo's. She couldn't get any farther. "Leo, I can't."

"Yes, you can," he said. "Just a little more."

Phoebe stretched and Leo stretched. Their fingers touched. Then they made it. Leo grabbed Phoebe's hand and he orbed out with her.

Price was at the edge of the woods when the cabin exploded. The outward force of the explosion threw her backward to the ground. She covered her face with her arms as debris rained down toward her. Small and not so small pieces of wood fell and hit her. Finally she didn't feel anything else and she uncovered her face. Then she stood, looking around wildly for Leo and Phoebe.

"Phoebe! Leo!" she shouted. She was starting to worry. "Oh God. Guys! Can you hear me?"

Price spun around just as bluish-white lights started to appear before her. When they fully materialized, Phoebe lost her balance and stumbled forward. Leo caught her.

"Oh thank God," Price said. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah. What happened?" Phoebe asked as she turned around to get a look at the cabin. There was nothing left but charred rubble. "Oh."

"You guys are damn lucky," Price said. "I'd be stuck here picking up little pieces of you to take home to Piper. Except that I wouldn't be able to get back to her without you, Leo."

"All right," Phoebe said. "The important thing is that we're okay. Now we need to vanquish Assilem and go home."

* * *

><p>Piper was pacing by the fireplace in the parlor talking to herself. Cole had returned to the room to find her this way. He walked further in.<p>

"Piper," he said cautiously. She just kept pacing and talking. He said her name again. She continued what she was doing. Finally he reached forward and grabbed her by the arm, "Piper!"

She stopped and stared at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and her pupils were dilated. She was on the edge. If the others weren't back soon there'd be no help for Piper.

"Piper, are you still with me here?" he asked.

"Yeah. Yeah…I'm here…sure," she said quickly. "Where are they? Huh?"

"It might seem like they're gone longer here, Piper," Cole said calmly. "Time moves faster here than it does in Apaya."

"I need to sleep Cole," Piper said. She pulled away and began pacing again. "I have to. I'm going crazy. I'm going crazy." Piper continually paced muttering those words, and Cole was getting nervous. He knew it wouldn't be long before she would be beyond help and she would try to hurt herself.

"Piper, maybe you should sit down," he said. "They'll be back soon I'm sure."

"You don't know that," she said, shaking her head. "You don't. You don't. You don't." Then she stopped pacing suddenly. "I need water." She started to walk to the kitchen, but Cole stopped her.

"I'll get it. You should sit," he said.

"No," Piper said. She gestured with her hand and Cole froze in his spot. She left him there and then went into the kitchen.

A couple minutes later, Cole unfroze and looked around. He grunted in frustration, knowing what Piper did to him, and he went to the kitchen. He looked around and saw utensils and dishes strewn about the kitchen floor. Piper had trashed the place in a matter of minutes. She was headed for the knives.

"No!" Cole shouted, starting to head for her. She thrust her hand out and made the pitcher of tea on the counter next to Cole explode. He put his arms up to protect himself. He looked up and saw Piper holding a knife to her throat.

"Cole, get out of here! Just let me go," she said. "I can't take it any more."

"You know that your sisters and Leo are going to get the demon that did this to you," he said. "You just need to hang in there."

"Not any more," she said. "It's too hard. Too much. I just want to rest."

"Please, Piper, put the knife down," Cole said, trying to coax her into calming down. "Just calm down."

Piper shook her head defiantly. She shifted from foot to foot, holding the knife to her throat.

"Dammit, Piper, you've never let demons win before. You don't let demons take you down like this. If you're gonna go down, go down fighting," Cole said. He was yelling at her like he was angry, but he was hoping this tactic would work.

Piper just shook her head and pressed the edge of the blade harder to her skin.

* * *

><p>"I think that's him," Leo whispered, pointing toward a clearing in the wooded area. There was a man standing there, looking down into a basin of some kind. His back was to them.<p>

"So what now?" Price asked.

"Well, the cabin was a trap," Phoebe said. "That means he's expecting us. He could very well know we're right behind him."

"I do know you're behind me," the man said. He turned toward them.

"Ooh! Price!" Phoebe said urgently, wanting Price to TK the man. Price did so, and the man flew across the clearing hitting the ground hard.

"You know, I didn't think the Charmed Ones were the type to shoot first and ask questions later," he said as he stood. He brushed off his robe. "I'm not the one you're looking for."

"What are you talking about?" Price asked, ready to use her power if he tried anything.

"You're looking for Assilem. I'm not him," the man said. "But I can take you to him."

"What makes you think we would work with evil?" Price asked.

"What makes you think I'm evil?" the man asked.

"So you're good?" Leo asked.

"No," he replied. He extended his hand. "My name is Gandalf."

"Like Lord of the Rings Gandalf?" Price asked.

"Yes and no," he replied, resting his unshook hand at his side. "I'm not that Gandalf, but I am a kind of wizard."

"But wizards are good," Phoebe said. "You said you're not good."

"I'm neither good nor evil," he replied. "I'm a Veneficus Pondera, a balance wizard. I monitor the balance between good and evil. I'll help you find Assilem if you like. He's messing with the balance and that cannot be."

"What do you mean?" Price asked.

Gandalf sighed, knowing they were wasting valuable time. "Simply put, there's a natural balance between good and evil. There can't be more than the other. If the supernatural evils were completely destroyed humans would compensate for the balance and there would be more humans committing evil acts."

"Wait a minute," Price said. "If good and evil are always balanced, what's the point of us fighting evil all the time?"

"You exist to help maintain the balance. I do not actively maintain the balance unless there are dire circumstances, such as those with your sister," Gandalf explained. "Piper is part of a very important prophecy that involves the balance of good and evil. She's not meant to die…yet."

"Yet? What do you mean yet?" Phoebe asked. Gandalf said nothing. "All right, fine. You said you knew where Assilem was."

"Yes," he replied. "Follow me."

He began walking. The three looked at each other. Phoebe shrugged her shoulders and followed him. The other two followed her, hoping they weren't putting their trust in the wrong person.

* * *

><p>The scene in the Halliwell kitchen hadn't changed much after several minutes. Cole's anger tactic hadn't worked, and Piper was still standing with the knife pressed dangerously against her neck. He had to think of a different way to get her to put it down. Guilt was as good as any.<p>

"Piper, you don't want to do this," he said. "I remember Phoebe telling me you were afraid of following your mother's footsteps. If you use that knife, you'll follow in her footsteps. And your child won't even get know what life is like. You don't want that Piper."

She looked at him, the desperation in her eyes tearing at his heart. He couldn't bear to see anyone like this, especially Piper. She was practically family.

"They'll help you Piper," Cole said, stepping forward. "Give me the knife."

She started to lower the knife and Cole reached forward to take it, but suddenly someone crashed through the window and tackled Cole to the floor. Piper jumped back and dropped the knife to the floor.

"So Belthazor, thought you could escape from the Source you traitor," the man pinning Cole to the floor said. He wrapped his hands around Cole's throat.

"I'm not Belthazor," Cole said. He looked over, saw the knife and grabbed it. He jammed it into the demon's throat and black blood oozed down Cole's hand and arm. The demon gagged and then collapsed on his side. Cole left him there and then turned back to Piper. His heart nearly broke. She was crouched in the corner by the refrigerator with both her hands to her head, crying. Cole slowly approached her and knelt beside her, resting his hand on her back.

"Piper," he said quietly. She didn't respond for a moment and he just knelt next to her. Then she spoke in nearly a whisper.

"I just want it to be over," she said pitifully. Cole nodded his head and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he helped her stand and led her to the parlor.

* * *

><p>Gandalf led them through the woods and they finally came to a larger, more elaborate cabin than the first one they had encountered. He turned to the others. "You do have the vanquishing spell, right?"<p>

Price held it up. "Don't leave home without it," she said with a smirk, although the pop-culture reference was lost on Gandalf.

"All right, he'll likely be on the second floor in the bedroom," Gandalf said. "Like I said, I don't actively restore the balance unless I must. The rest is up to you."

"All right," Phoebe said. "Thanks."

"No need," he said. He turned and disappeared into the trees.

"Was anyone else a little creeped out by him?" Price asked.

"A little," Leo said. "I'm not sure whether to trust him or not."

"Well, right now we don't have a choice," Phoebe said. "Who knows how bad Piper is now? And I'm not about to lose another sister."

The three of them headed toward the cabin with Phoebe leading the group. She checked the windows for any sign of movement.

"I'll orb in ahead of you," Leo said. "To avoid traps."

Phoebe nodded her head, and Leo looked through the window for a safe spot to orb to. He found one and then left the two of them on the porch.

Inside all was clear. He looked around and saw no one. Then he went and opened the door for Price and Phoebe. The three of them took a look around, but the place looked fairly normal.

"Upstairs," Phoebe said. They went up the cabin steps carefully, trying to avoid any creaks. They reached the top of the stairs and found that the second floor was nothing but one large room. There was a man at the far end of the room, looking like he was meditating or something. Phoebe nodded at Price, who promptly tossed the man with her power.

Assilem tumbled and slammed into the wall. When he stood he glared at the three intruders. "How did you get here?"

"Magic," Price said with a smirk. "Now I think it's time we did some of that on you."

Assilem shot an energy ball at them, but Price deflected it.

Disruptor of life  
>Fountain of pain<br>Being pierced by this knife  
>Never hurt others again<p>

Price threw a knife with her power and it embedded itself in Assilem's chest. He cried out as white flames edged in black shot from the demon. He cried out in rage and made one last attempt at the sisters with an energy ball. But he was gone before the ball even came close to them.

"That's one way to cure insomnia," Price joked. Leo and Phoebe rolled their eyes at her and turned to leave the room. She followed them. "What? Come on. I laugh at your stupid puns!"

* * *

><p>Cole was on the first step to the second floor when he heard the familiar sound of Leo orbing. He turned with a finally sleeping Piper in his arms. She had collapsed about ten minutes earlier, obviously having been released from whatever spell had kept her awake. Pure exhaustion of her mind and body forced her to immediately fall asleep.<p>

"She's sleeping?" Phoebe asked. She approached Cole and Piper, and she looked closely at her sister. She looked okay.

"Yeah, for about ten minutes now," Cole said. "I was about to take her upstairs so she'd be more comfortable."

"Something tells me she could sleep on a bed of nails and be comfortable right now," Price commented.

"I'll take her," Leo said. He took Piper from Cole's arms. She barely even stirred from the movement. Leo started to orb upstairs, but then he stopped. He looked gratefully to Cole. "Thank you for staying with her."

"Not a problem," he said. He looked at Phoebe. "She's family."

Leo orbed upstairs and Phoebe smiled at Cole. "And thank you for me, too," she said. She rubbed his chest with her hands. "So what do you say we go to bed?"

"Um, actually I've got something to take care of first," he said. Phoebe was visibly disappointed.

"What do you have to do?" she asked.

"There's a dead zotar in your kitchen that I have to bury," he replied. "I'm not Belthazor anymore, but somehow the bugger found me."

"Well, no offense honey, but I'm really not in the mood to bury a demon," Phoebe said.

"I'll meet you upstairs," he said. He leaned forward, kissed her and then went to the kitchen.

"So, Phoebe, you said there's a demon test in the Book of Shadows," Price said, remembering Puck after everything they had gone through.

"Yeah," Phoebe said. "I don't know exactly where Prue wrote it in the Book, though."

"Go ahead upstairs," Price said. "I'll find it."

"You sure?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, it's been quite a day," Price said. Phoebe went upstairs and Price went up to the attic to look at the Book of Shadows. She started looking through the Book of Shadows when the pages started flipping on their own. They stopped on a page about a Veneficus Pondera. Piper and Phoebe had told her about their Grams flipping the pages of the Book of Shadows when she felt she could help with something.

"Uh, yeah, we met one of those, Grams," Price said. "He explained himself. I've got other things to worry about."

Price started turning the pages to look for a solution to her man problem.

* * *

><p>The next day it was past noon before Piper made an appearance with Leo by her side.<p>

"Hey it's insomnia girl," Price said with a smile. "How'd you sleep?"

"I have never appreciated a good night's sleep more," Piper replied. She took the glass of juice that Phoebe was passing her. She glanced at Cole. "Hey, and I didn't get the chance to thank you last night, considering I fell asleep the second they vanquished Assilem. I really owe you one."

Everyone else was confused, but Cole nodded his head. "Hey, no problem. I was happy to help."

Phoebe glanced back and forth between the two as a smile of suspicion spread across her face. "Something's going on here. What's that I sense between you two? Are you bonding?"

"What?" Piper asked defensively. "Just because I'm grateful for his help doesn't mean I like the guy."

Cole smiled. "Yeah, honey, you know the two of us are bitter enemies."

The others all smiled at the exchange. "Whatever," Phoebe said. She let the issue go and turned to Price. "Did you find that potion to test Puck?"

"Yeah, I'm going to make it in about an hour. We're going to dinner tonight. I'm going to slip it in his drink or something," Price said.

"Do you really think he's a demon?" Cole asked. "The undercover thing is kind of overdone."

"I don't know," Price said. "I guess I can't be too careful. But I get the sense that there's more to him."

"He definitely has a mysterious air about him," Leo said.

Price thought about that for a moment. "Yeah, I just hope it's the good kind of mystery."

THE END


End file.
